this is the intriguing premise of “Midlife (or How to Hero at Fifty).” The story follows Ruben Kwan, a half-Chinese, half-Puerto Rican 50-year-old firefighter who confronts his fear of fire when he astonishingly finds that fire cannot harm him and he can somewhat control it. Yet, Ruben’s life is far from simple. With an unexpected pregnancy in his family, impending fatherhood at 50, and a mysterious organization tracking him for his newfound abilities, he faces the complexities of midlife. Amidst all this, he’s also dealing with the physical toll of aging.
At its heart, this comic strip explores a profound question: What does it mean to transition from being a good hero to a good human, especially in midlife? Created by a 52-year-old grappling with his own middle-aged challenges, this superhero is depicted as someone caught between feeling too old for heroics yet too young to be fifty. Sound familiar?
If you were a superhero in your midlife, what unique power would you choose to make the world a better place? For those of you in the 45-55 age range, you might want to check out our “Life Begins @ 50: Embracing Your Second Adulthood” workshop in Baja with my co-founder Jeff Hamaoui April 29-May 4.
-Chip
P.S. One of our favorite MEA faculty members, poet Mark Nepo, is teaching at MEA Baja this week and on the first night of the workshop penned this poem (he’s also teaching in Santa Fe “The Power of Friendship” Sept 16-21):
The Ocean is Our Teacher
If you watch the surf, you will find a great teacher. Each wave gathers, thinking it has done this by itself, when it has been lifted into being by the power of the deep. Then, it rises and crests and crashes, giving its all, thinning till there is nothing left to give. At which time, it is pulled back into the deep to do it all again. This is its glorious life which hypnotizes us. We spend so much time trying to avoid this process when the thoroughness of it is the secret of resilience, the secret of surrender. Go and watch the surf wherever you can and let it speak to you about how to live your life.